Revolut secures full banking licence from ECB and local regulator

Fintech giant Revolut announced on Monday that its subsidiary Revolut Bank S.A. has been granted a full banking licence following a joint assessment by the European Central Bank (ECB) and the French prudential regulator. The decision was formally adopted by the ECB Governing Council following a comprehensive regulatory review conducted alongside France’s Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel et de Résolution. The approval represents a major historic milestone for the company as it cements its position as one of the largest retail banking institutions across the continent. Revolut currently serves about 30 million customers across Western Europe, having added close to eight million new users in 2025 alone. Globally, the financial technology firm now maintains a customer base exceeding 75 million people across 40 different international markets. Under the new operational framework, Revolut Bank S.A. will progressively begin serving retail and business clients starting in France before expanding into other major European markets. Subsequent rollout phases are scheduled to cover Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain as the entity expands its localised product offerings. The company’s existing Lithuanian entity, Revolut Bank UAB, will remain a cornerstone of operations for the remainder of the European Economic Area. This dual-hub arrangement creates a scalable European operational structure, with both banking entities remaining under the direct supervision of the European Central Bank alongside local national competent authorities. The licence acquisition forms part of a broader expansion strategy in Western Europe, where the group has committed to investing more than €1 billion. As part of this investment drive, the company is hiring more than 600 people across its Western European markets to support its operational growth. Revolut has also confirmed the planned 2027 opening of a new Western European headquarters in Paris, where its regional senior leadership team is based. The company’s business banking arm, Revolut Business, has also experienced rapid commercial growth across the continent, catering to clients ranging from individual freelancers to large corporate enterprises. The new licensing structure is designed to deepen banking relationships through closer proximity to regional customers, industry talent, and local financial ecosystems. Executive leadership emphasised that the regulatory approval provides a firm foundation for continuous product innovation and localised service delivery. “This licence gives us the foundation to build the next generation of banking for more than 30 million customers across Western Europe,” Revolut founder and Chief Executive Officer Nik Storonsky said. “France has become a leading financial hub, supported by a dynamic financial ecosystem and a robust regulatory framework,” he added. “It is the ideal platform to accelerate Revolut’s next phase of growth, bringing us one step closer to our ambition of becoming one of Europe’s largest and most trusted banks,” Storonsky stated. “Receiving this licence is a significant milestone in Revolut’s evolution as a banking group,” Revolut Western Europe Chairman of the Board of Directors Frédéric Oudéa said. “It reflects our long-term commitment to building a bank that meets the highest governance, regulatory and compliance standards, and the constructive engagement we’ve built with the French and European authorities,” Oudéa added. “These foundations will support us as we continue to build trust with customers, regulators and partners across the region,” he continued. “This achievement reflects months of close collaboration with the ACPR and the European Central Bank, whose rigorous standards have helped us build the right foundations for long-term growth in the region,” Revolut Western Europe Chief Executive Officer Béatrice Cossa-Dumurgier said. “We are grateful for the we’ve had throughout this process,” Cossa-Dumurgier added. “Our focus now turns to execution,” Cossa-Dumurgier explained. “We’ll begin by serving customers in France before progressively expanding across Western Europe, while accelerating the localisation of our products and services to better meet the needs of retail and business customers in each market,” Cossa-Dumurgier said. “This is the beginning of a new chapter for Revolut,” Cossa-Dumurgier concluded.